


Feline Fever

by D_f_m22



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-06-15 02:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15403053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_f_m22/pseuds/D_f_m22
Summary: Every so often, Missy experiences side effects from the Cheetah Virus.This time, with the Doctor in company, Missy thinks it'll  be hilarious not to tell him.





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Was going to be a one shot, but has now expanded. 
> 
> Let me know what you think as this is slightly different for me.

“Are you hungry?” The Doctor asked as he entered the Vault early one evening. “I bought some noodles.”

 

It had been dark when he entered, and the Time Lord had been unable to pinpoint where exactly Missy was. Upon turning on two of the lamps resting on the chest of drawers, he found her curled up on the sofa under a blanket and basking in the electric warmth of the space heaters. 

 

“Hey,” the Doctor laughed quietly. “What are you doing with those on? It’s sweltering outside!”

 

Missy uncurled slightly- just enough to stretch out, it looked as though she’d been awoken by his arrival and that would have accounted for the quietness that Nardole had been so concerned about. One of her feet had slipped out from the blanket and the Doctor watched as red tipped toes clenched and unclenched. 

 

Gently, he reached out and cupped her ankle.

 

It shocked the Time Lord to feel how clammy she was, and he instantly began tugging the blankets away and switching off the space heaters as he tutted under his breath. By this time, Missy still hadn’t said anything and was looking up at the Doctor with hooded eyes. The Time Lady’s cheeks were pink, and her hair was wilder than normal. For a second, the Doctor swore that he saw her eyes flicker an odd, golden hue. 

 

“You’re ill again?” The Doctor questioned, not particularly surprised.

 

It had become quite common for Missy to contract odd earth illnesses. She was less immune than him, having had less exposure to most of the major strains of infection. It was rather like having a five-year old that would pick up every bug going. 

 

“What’s wrong this time- stomach bug or flu?” 

 

“Neither,” Missy said eventually. “I’m not ill. I’m just waking up, I must have dozed off. What time is it?”

 

“Dinner time,” The Doctor replied, offering his hand out to Missy. She batted it away. “I’ve got some noodles from that place you like.” 

 

Missy scrunched up her face and shook her head. 

 

“Not hungry.”

 

The Doctor looked down at Missy, concern crossing his features. 

 

“You are ill,” he said decidedly. “Nardole said you didn’t eat breakfast either.”

 

Missy rolled her eyes, sighing and turning away. 

 

“Not ill, just not hungry” Missy yawned. “I want to go back to sleep.”

 

“You’ve been asleep all afternoon,” the Doctor sighed. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” 

 

Missy bypassed his question and looked over her shoulder. 

 

“Lay down and cuddle me.”

 

The Doctor’s brow creased, worry increasing by the second. Missy was usually clingy when he returned at the end of the day, but this was different. Still, he relented and sat down. Missy whined as the Doctor’s weight jostled her. Carefully the Doctor rested one hand on the Time Lady’s back, using the other to undo his laces and ease off his shoes. Missy meanwhile continued to murmur under her breath. 

 

If the Doctor didn’t know any better, it sounded like Missy was mewling like a cat. 

 

“Not ill my arse,” the Time Lord grumbled as he pulled both his legs up onto the sofa and turned around wrapping his arm around Missy and pulling her in close. “Look at the bloody state of you.”

 

The Time Lady squirmed for a while, before relaxing into the comforting embrace. The Doctor stroked her hair back, pulling as much of it away from her flushed face as possible while Missy let out an appreciative noise that could only be described as a purr. As the Doctor continued to massage her head, Missy continued to mewl. 

 

“You sound like a cat,” the Doctor commented when he was sure Missy was on the edge of sleep. “I didn’t know non-feline beings could make those noises.”

 

Missy didn’t respond and the Doctor, convinced that she had fallen into a slumber, stopped stroking her head. Instantly, he felt Missy’s head press against his palm- a silent request for him to resume his previous actions. 

 

“Omega, you are clingy tonight,” the Doctor commented. 

 

“I like you,” Missy yawned. “M’not ill.”

 

“No,” the Doctor laughed. “Course you’re not.”

 

Missy rolled over, so she was resting on her back and looked up at the Doctor hopefully. 

 

“What’s that look for?” The Time Lord asked, no longer surprised by his friend’s strange behaviour. He was now convinced that she had picked up an infection that was making her act peculiar. “Are you about to ask me to rub you belly?” 

 

The Time Lady didn’t reply, but the look on her face was the only confirmation the Doctor needed. As he rested his hand on Missy’s stomach, he began to rub deep circles into the soft skin of her stomach, rucking her cotton top up with each stroke. It always surprised the Doctor how fleshy that part of his friend was- Missy wasn’t fat by any stretch of the imagination but her middle was soft and rubbery where he’d been expecting it to be taut. Not long ago, he had been able to feel her ribs under her skin but now she was healthier and happier and better fed. 

 

Under his hand, the Doctor felt Missy press her stomach upwards and whine. Suddenly, he reached what he thought was a realisation. 

 

“Is it cramps, Missy?”

 

Even though the Doctor had given her a hormone suppressor after her last cycle, that had been nearly thirty years ago. It wouldn’t be impossible for it to have kicked in again. 

 

“No,” Missy replied turning into face the Doctor and pressing herself as close as possible. “No, it’s not that.” 

 

The Time Lord accepted her answer, keeping his hand pressed firmly against the Time Lady’s stomach and kneading it dutifully. He was about to say something else, tell Missy that he knew something was wrong with her and that he couldn’t understand why she was hiding it when Missy purred. 

 

This time it didn’t just sound like a purr- it was a purr. 

 

The Doctor laughed. 

 

“Seriously?” He asked incredulously. “You really are a cat, aren’t you?” 

 

Missy’s lips quirked, a knowing smile playing on her lips. For a moment, the Doctor was concerned- a jolt of panic hitting his core. A smile like that on Missy’s face usually came before a devious plan of some sort. Before he had time to worry, Missy broke the facade with a yawn. 

 

“Go to sleep,” he advised. “I’ll be here in the morning.” 

 

XXXXXXXX

 

It was the Doctor that fell to sleep first. No doubt exhausted from students and marking and dealing with Nardole. 

 

Missy was restless and unable to sleep but she wasn’t ill, not in the traditional sense at least. 

 

She knew exactly what was wrong with her and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it. 

 

He would probably be angry when he realised what had happened. Angry that she hadn’t stopped him, but angrier that there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. 

 

She thought the whole thing to be utterly hilarious. 

 

Oh, the look on his face would be priceless.

 

The Cheetah Virus, after all, had been a part of her genetic make up for several regenerations now. It always amused Missy that he had never asked if there had been any long-term side effects from her original bout. She had been exposed to a far higher dose than him and despite ideas to the contrary had always been the sicklier one out of the two of them. Still, that was the sort of question that never really crossed the Doctor’s mind and it didn’t offend Missy. 

 

Every few centuries, the Cheetah Virus would make a reappearance. It was different each time, and the feline characteristics she picked up varied- often mirroring the state of her life at the time. When she’d been on the run and without a Tardis, she’d transformed into a feral cat. After the Time War, she’d found herself becoming a rather timid thing- that had been her least favourite. Now, though, with her life so centred around domesticity in the Vault, she could feel herself becoming a pampered house cat. 

 

That was something she felt worth trying. 

 

It wouldn’t be long now before the full transformation took place. She could feel her senses changing and the cells in her body morphing. A deep pining for the Doctor seemed to set in too, more so than usual. She could smell his scent and feel his mind buzzing nearby and wanted nothing more than to curl up on his chest and sleep. But first, she owed him an explanation. Rasillon only knows how he would react if he awoke to find her replaced with a cat in the Vault.

 

Glancing around the empty Vault, the Time Lady spotted a blank scrap of paper and reached for it. Scrambling out her last coherent thoughts before the virus kicked in. 

 

XXXXXXXX

 

It was the incessant scratching that woke the Doctor. 

 

Scratch…Scratch…Scratch. 

 

It took a while for him to figure out exactly where he was, slowly remembering that he had stayed the night with Missy because she had been acting strangely. Turning his attention to the now incessant scratching, he realised it was most likely Missy causing the noise. Incessant noise had been her choice of communication in her early years in the Vault, she appeared to have outgrown that phase in recent years though. 

 

“Missy,” the Doctor called out, sitting up and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. “Where are you?” 

 

The scratching stopped, and the Doctor spotted a rustle of movement out of the corner of his eyes. Casting his gaze downwards, he took in the pile of Missy’s clothes that had been discarded carelessly by the sofa. She had been ill, the Doctor thought. Probably stripped down and headed for sanctuary of a cooling bath. 

 

“How many times?” The Doctor sighed as he scooped up the messy pile of clothes. “If you’re feeling—” 

 

Before the Time Lord could finish his sentence, a sudden movement within the bundle of clothes surprised him. In shock, the Doctor dropped the pile and watched in confusion as a black cat fell to the floor, just managing to land on their feet. 

 

The feline stared up at him, glaring in offence while the Time Lord blinked and tried to figure out what was going on. The petite black cat was not much bigger than a kitten but had an air about it that seemed to radiate an age far greater than that. In fact, the cat almost felt as old as him, which of course would be impossible for an earth cat. 

 

Unless…

 

…Age wasn’t the only thing that radiated from the cat, there was an odd sense of familiarity. It felt like he knew the feline. Staring into the cat’s wide, blue eyes that suspicion was almost confirmed. 

 

“Missy?” He questioned, disbelievingly before shaking himself and muttering under his breath. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s one of her stupid jokes, you’re going soft in your old age.”

 

All at once, a million questions ran through the Time Lord’s mind. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to order the most pressing of issues. 

 

Where was Missy?

 

How had a cat got into the Vault?

 

Had Missy put the cat in the Vault? 

 

How long had Missy been gone for? 

 

Meee-oow. 

 

The Doctor looked down at the cat in question. Even if it wasn’t Missy, it certainly had her temperament. The Time Lord could have sworn he’d even seen the feline attempt to roll its eyes. 

 

“You have an attitude problem,” he muttered to the cat as he bent down to scoop it up. “Just like someone else I know.” 

 

As the Doctor reached out, the cat jumped out of reach and landed gracefully on the coffee table. The Time Lord tutted but was soon distracted by the scrap of paper underneath the cat’s paw. 

 

“What’s that?” He questioned, recognising the neat swirls of Missy’s handwriting. 

 

The cat let out what sounded like a self-satisfied purr as the Doctor began to read the note. 

 

XXXXXXXX

 

Dearest Doctor, 

 

Let’s keep this brief as I’m rather losing sight of my senses. By the time you read this, you’ll probably be aware that I am nowhere to be found and there is a cat in my place. 

 

Don’t worry: that cat is me…Ta-da! 

 

No, I’ve not completely lost it and no, I’m not playing some horrid trick on you. It’s the Cheetah Virus, it stuck in my system and every oh, I don’t know, century or so I turn into something from the Felis Catus species. It’s temporary, usually reversed within the week. 

 

It certainly keeps the boredom away, I suppose. 

 

Anyway, I doubt you’re going to believe me straight away and I bet your eyebrows are doing magnificent things as they read this, but you can scan me. My genetic print should remain the same and I know deep down you’re going to sense it’s me. In fact, I bet you already have by the time you’re reading this and I bet you’ll be blushing like a beetroot in heat knowing that I’m right yet again. 

 

I better get going, turning into a whole other species is rather exhausting and I’m very nearly a cat now and they can’t write. 

 

You better take good care of me and don’t worry, I’m going to be the purr-fect pet. 

 

See what I did there? Tough crowd.

 

Ciao for now, 

 

Missy

XOXOXO

 

XXXXXXXX

 

The Doctor gawped at the letter, trying to keep up with each of Missy’s tangents before finally giving up and dealing with the issue in hand. 

 

Looking from the letter to the cat and back again he tried to take it all in. 

 

The cat- wait, Missy- was smirking at him from her perch on the coffee table. Her tail swinging lazily over the edge, batting from side to side as hooded eyes watched him reach in his back pocket for his screwdriver. Performing a quick scan, the readings came back as the Doctor expected. 

 

“Really, Missy?” He asked with a sigh. “This. This is the kind of thing you should be telling me.” 

 

Missy attempted to shrug in her new body, but failed miserably and instead pounced into the Doctor’s arms. Nuzzling her head against the stubble on his chin, Missy let out a content purr and allowed her eyes to drift shut. The Doctor looked down his friend, still trying to take in her new form. 

 

“You really are a ridiculous thing sometimes; did you know that?” 

 

No response came, and the Doctor found himself instinctively scratching the Time Lady/cat behind the ear. 

 

“This is going to be an interesting week.”


	2. A Game of Cat and Mouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missy gets settled into her temporary life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is back! I'm taking it as a lighthearted way to get back into writing. There should be daily updates between now and Sunday.

The first day in her feline form was going fantastically. 

As she rolled lazily onto her back, Missy enjoyed the sensation of swishing her tail from left to right in a steady rhythm. Purring in content, the Time Lady turned cat stretched out luxuriously on the Doctor’s mahogany desk. She took great pleasure in the way the sun was warming her furry middle and cared very little for the way the Doctor’s paperwork and laptop crashed to the floor with an almighty thump. In fact, she rather took great pleasure in that too. Letting her head roll to one side, Missy’s eyes narrowed as she looked out of the large window and idly considered the campus as it came to life. She spied two sparrows and one magpie that in her usual form would have been of little interest to her but in her current form caused more than a flurry of excitement. Rolling back over onto her front, Missy stretched out and padded her paws along the desk before standing up. All the while, her eyes never left the three birds as they flew in and out of the clouds before finally settling in the nests resting at the top of on of the trees that lined the campus square. Licking her lips, Missy wondered if she had time to head out for a little hunt before the Doctor returned. One slightly annoying side effect of her current state was her loss of awareness of time. In her feline mind, Missy couldn’t gauge whether the Doctor had left five minutes or five hours ago. All she knew for certain was that she’d been told to behave by the Doctor and that he’d be back with all the best supplies from the premium pet shop before she knew it. 

Padding across the desk, Missy cast a glance over her shoulder before taking her chance to scratch at the pristine mahogany of the desk. Lifting her left paw, Missy was milliseconds away from digging her claws into the desk when she heard the office door open.

“Missy! What did I tell you? No scratching my desk!” The Doctor exclaimed in annoyance. “Don’t act like you can’t understand me just because you’re got fur and a tail!” 

Jumping down from the desk, Missy landed on the carpet with an elegant thud before she prowled her way over to the Doctor. Purring, she nuzzled against his legs as she weaved her way in and out of his ankles. When she reached the front of his shoes, she became distractedly interested in his shoelaces and began to bat and swipe at them with an energy she usually reserved for a killing spree. Much to her annoyance, her sudden playful nature wasn’t to annoy the Doctor- she genuinely felt the need to chase and play with these enticingly delightful pieces of string. Something about her body language- even in cat form- must have given this away to the Doctor because instead of scolding her, he bent down and picked her up. 

“I’ve got yer some toys, don’t you worry about that,” the Doctor smiled. His voice mixed between gentle and amused. “First things first though, I’ve got to put your new collar on.” 

As he spoke, Missy had found her head instinctively resting against the Doctor’s chest. Her eyes drifted half shut as she listened to his soothing voice and she found herself purring in time, she paid little attention to what he was saying. Just as she felt herself approaching her fifth cat nap of the morning, she felt a cool, leather band wrap around her neck. Looking down, she was outraged to discover she was now modelling a purple collar adorned with glitter. A silver charm depicting the letter ‘M’ dangled down from the front of the collar. Missy conceded that she could have accepted the collar that looked like it originated from the tackiest pet shop in the universe, were it not for the sharp pain she felt jab into the back of her neck as the collar had been fastened. 

He was chipping her! 

It was like she was no more than the common cat. Oh, wait…

Looking up at the Doctor, Missy’s eyes narrowed, and she raised her claws to the Doctor’s chest as she took a forceful swipe at him. The ‘still a Time Lord’ Time Lord in the room, chuckled down at her. Missy hissed, unimpressed with the Doctor’s amusement and trying to free herself from his arms. Just as she was about to leap out of his hold, she was tugged back but it wasn’t by the Doctor. Well, not quite, it was by his jumper as her sharp claws remained stuck in the black wool. The Time Lady that had escaped the universe’s toughest prisons was now trapped- by an Edinburgh Woollen Mill sale item. The embarrassment of it all would have reddened Missy’s cheeks if she wasn’t now completely covered in fur. In a flurry of panic, Missy tugged and pulled and thrashed as she tried to free her paw from the jumper. The Doctor moved one of his hands to Missy’s trapped paw and very gently- both because he didn’t want to hurt her and because he didn’t want his hand shredded to pieces- he set about freeing her from her woollen prison. 

“Hold still, will you?” He asked surprisingly kindly. Missy looked up at him, stilling at his gentle words. “You’re going to ruin my jumper if you don’t stop and I only just got this. Now look, I probably should have told you about the chip, but I thought you’d react badly. You have kind of proven my point.” 

By the time the Doctor had finished rambling, Missy was freed and jumping out of his arms. She headed in the direction of the three bags the Doctor had placed down by the door, jumping into the one that looked to have the most in. 

“Ah, yes, presents,” the Doctor mumbled as he followed her. “I got you some of the basics and a few treats. You can only have the catnip this evening though, the shop assistant told me all about the perils of those allegedly tasty treats. I think they’re a gateway drug.” 

Missy half listened to the Doctor as she buried her head further into the bag before reappearing with a plush mouse toy in her mouth. The Doctor chuckled, having predicted that that would be her favourite toy. He watched with something like fondness in her eyes as Missy padded back across the carpet towards the sofa. He was about to join her when the door opened.   
“Doctor!” Nardole’s panicked voice broke into the relative calm of the office. “Missy’s being awfully quiet today and I don’t like it. Last time she was this quiet, she’d hacked into the Kremlin and caused three of your colleagues to be arrested for espionage.” 

“There’s nothing for you to worry about, Nardole. In fact, I need you to leave the Vault alone for a week or so. Take a holiday or do whatever it is you do when you’re not babysitting Time Lords. Missy has picked up a strain of Chicken Pox, she’s highly contagious and feeling very sorry for herself.” 

Nardole’s eyes widened in the comic alarm that personified his entire being. 

“But… Missy already had Chicken Pox a few years ago. Sir—” Just as Nardole was about to protest further, Missy peered over the back of the sofa and let out a proud meow. Nardole’s eyes lit up in delight. “You’ve got a cat! Wait…please tell me that cat isn’t to cheer Missy up.” 

“No, no,” The Doctor reassured. “It’s my colleague’s. They’ve gone away for the week and have asked if I can look after the cat.”

“Oh, well, they’re very sweet,” Nardole cooed. As he walked forwards and went to pet the cat he didn’t know was Missy, he was met by a hiss and a scratch. 

“Sorry,” the Doctor mumbled apologetically. “She’s a bit high maintenance.” 

“Oh, I can see that,” Nardole whined. “She’ll probably get on with Missy.” 

The Doctor chuckled.

“Speaking of Missy, I’ll look after her this week. Seriously, just take a holiday.” 

Nardole looked unconvinced, but reluctantly nodded. 

“Very well,” he agreed. “Let me know if you need any help with the cat.”

 

XXXXXXXX

 

Later, as the sun was setting over campus, the Doctor was running a string toy with a mouse attached to it, along the carpet and laughing lightly as Missy chased it enthusiastically.

“A game of cat and mouse. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better representation of our friendship.”


	3. Internet Famous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thunderstorms and Missy don't mix- especially when she's in cat form.

The Doctor let out a satisfied yawn as he turned over in bed. While the Doctor had never been one for a regular sleep pattern, his new life on earth had meant that he was now more inclined to a routine than ever before. Sticking his head out of the duvet cover, the Time Lord stuck his tongue out to taste the air. It was a Wednesday, just after six am. Lashings of rain could be heard pelting against the wall of his office as well as low rumblings of thunder in the distance. The rain must have been heavy if he could hear it through both the Tardis and the stone outer wall of the university block. A storm was brewing and would inevitably lead to his first-year lecture being half empty. The Doctor momentarily found himself weighing up the benefits of cancelling his lecture, but quickly remembered that the head of faculty was already closely monitoring his classes after complaints that he went off topic. A cancelled lecture would not look good on his progress report. He would have to head down to the Vault before the lecture started. Missy had never liked thunderstorms and he would probably have to appease her with the promise of a movie night at the end of the day. Groaning, the Doctor heard a high-pitched whining noise that sounded halfway between a baby and a pining animal. His right ankle stung and tingled as though he had pins and needles (he probably did, he was prone to sleeping at awkward angles.) The noise continued, increasing in volume the more the Doctor paid attention to it. He’d realised suddenly that the noise had been present since waking- it might even have been the thing that woke him up. The noise coupled with a nagging sense at the back of his mind, that he was forgetting something. It made for an unsettling start to the day and the Doctor put it down to midweek blues (another peril of a linear routine). 

Reluctantly, the Doctor ran his hand over his face and tried to console himself with the fact he could pre-set his new coffee machine to brew a caffeine treat from his sonic and mentally prepared himself to leave his bed. In his mind, he was already running through the several layers of clothes that he would need to wear to battle the British a summer time on his brief walk across campus. 

A rain coat- waterproof, but not too heavy as the air was still muggy. 

A light jumper- thick enough in case a bracing wind was accompanying this storm. 

A light T shirt- for when the rain inevitably gave way to the humid July weather. 

Socks- the new F and F ones that Nardole had bought from Tesco. They lacked holes and were younger than his students, rather than his preferred pair that had more holes than fishnets and had seen more years than the Queen. 

Doc Martens- Sturdy and reliable, just like the Doctor chose to think of himself. Perfect for weathering a storm. Also, the Doctor believed, a good analogy for him. 

Just as the Time Lord was certain that he had completed his mental checklist, he found his thoughts drawn back to the persistent tingling in his leg. It seemed to increase- just as the high-pitched whining did- in time with the loud clap of thunder. Brows knitted together, the Doctor wondered if someone had left a frightened animal outside overnight. Deciding to get out of bed to check, the Doctor was about to drag himself from the comfort of his bed when the tingling in his leg stopped. In a rush he couldn’t keep up with, the Doctor felt something warm and fluffy jump into his lap. 

“What the—,” the Doctor growled as he looked down at the unexpected feline that had curled up in his lap. The cat was clawing at his pyjama shirt and looked like it was seconds away from burrowing under it. All at once, the Time Lord remembered everything. Missy had turned into a cat- lingering effects of the Cheetah virus. Despite his best efforts, he’d been unable to get her to sleep on the specially purchased cat bed and had reluctantly allowed her into the bed. From about three am, Missy had been restless. In hindsight, Missy’s new heightened senses had been picking up on the storm before it arrived. She’s always been frightened of thunderstorms, now she was in her cat form the fear-like everything-had heightened. “Oh, Missy.” 

The Doctor had never seen a cat tremble in all his lifetimes but as he scratched Missy gently behind the ear, she was definitely trembling. When the low rumbling of thunder increased, Missy jumped out of her fur. 

“Hush now you silly thing,” the Doctor said calmly. “It’s only a thunderstorm.” 

The reassurances did nothing to calm the Time Cat who continued with her attempts to hide herself under the Doctor’s pyjama top. She was mewling and whining still- that horrible pathetic cry that hurt the Doctor’s hearts. Already, the Doctor knew that he wouldn’t be able to leave Missy alone while he went to his lecture. 

“Missy, I said that it’s only a thunderstorm, you need to calm down.” 

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor closed his eyes and tried to think over a plan of action. Scratching behind Missy’s ear, he breathed a sigh of relief as she finally began to relax. He bit back the urge to call her a good girl, as he would if he was cradling a normal cat, and instead opted for a less provocative form of praise. 

“Well done, Missy,” he said firmly. “That’s perfect. Now, I think this storm is going to last a wee while so here’s what we’re going to do…” 

XXXXXXXX

Despite his best efforts, the Doctor had been unable to convince Missy to enter the travel box for the short walk down to the lecture hall. As the minutes had ticked by, the Time Cat dug her heels in and refused to enter the plastic gated box. The Doctor had tried speaking softly, placed cat treats in the box along with his recently used pyjama top to use familiar comforts to gently entice the black feline into the box. Missy had nearly made it across the threshold when a loud clap of thunder made her sprint back into the Doctor’s arms. If it wasn’t for the fact that Missy was currently little more than a trembling ball of fluff, the Time Lord would have been angry. As it was, Missy looked too pathetic for him to be annoyed. His hearts sank at the desperate sight- worse than seeing her like this in her feline form was knowing that were she in her ordinary form, she would be just as nervous of the thunderstorm. Outside on the campus the tower bell chimed, signalling that the Doctor had only five minutes to get to his lecture. 

“Okay, I’m going to carry you in my scarf,” the Doctor negotiated. “But you need to stay still and when we get there you need to stay behind the podium. You can lay on my feet if you like, I’ll even let you play with the laces if it helps take your mind off the storm but promise me that you’ll stay hidden from the students. Meow to say you agree.” 

Missy nuzzled against the Doctor’s chin, appearing to gain great reassurance from the friction of his stubble brushing against her. Her eyes widened as she turned to face him and realised she was expected to give some kind of verbal response. A glimmer of fear crossed her features and the Doctor wondered if she was worried that making any kind of noise would make the storm worse. 

“Missy, just one meow if you agree,” the Doctor encouraged. “One little squeak.” 

The cat nuzzled against the Doctor once more and squeezed her eyes shut before reluctantly making the tiniest meow that the Doctor had ever heard. 

“Good. Now let’s go.” 

XXXXXXXX

The lecture was going well. 

Missy had been happy enough, playing lazily with the Doctor’s laces by way of a distraction from the continuing storm and occasionally rubbing her nose against his ankles. Halfway through the lecture, however, things changed. Predictably, the trigger for the change had been a dramatic clap of thunder. The Doctor had been able to sense the approach of the thunder before it arrived- thanks to sharp scratches Missy gave to him. He was about to brush his mind against hers to calm her, but the thunder outraced him. Before he knew it, thunder had echoed around the room and Missy had jumped up into his arms. 

“Oh my god!” One of the students on the front row exclaimed. “Is that your cat, Doctor?” 

Missy was doing that horrible trembling thing again and it had seized all the Doctor’s attention. So much so, he was too preoccupied with whispering soothing words to his friends to notice the growing crowd of students that had walked up to front of the lecture hall and were fixated on the tiny ball of fur. Exclamations and mutterings and cooing noises mixed together to create a cacophony of excited noise. 

“Aw! She’s so sweet…What’s her name?” 

“Oh, bless her, is the storm scaring her?” 

“Is she a kitten?” 

“Can I take a picture?”

The Doctor looked up at the gathering crowd cautiously, he worried if it was too much for Missy. Would she be prone to lash out if one of the young humans took another step forward? Stealing a glance down at Missy, however, he noticed that the Time Lady had calmed down. Her ears had pointed upwards in interest, she was still pressed as close to the Doctor as possible, but her trembling had decreased and given way to an interested purring. Not quite ready to venture too far from the Doctor, Missy’s head poked outwards and she observed the students with a growing interest. Her blue eyes darted around every student and this seemed to produce another flurry of excitement. 

“Those eyes!” A student gushed. “I’ve never seen eyes that blue on a cat. She’s so beautiful!” 

Apparently, that was all the encouragement Missy needed to throw her fear aside. Evidently, Missy in cat form adored attention as much as Missy the Time Lady. Landing on the top of the podium, Missy’s tail stood at attention as she prowled and put on a show. Students pulled out their phones and snapped several photos. The Doctor rolled his eyes, but let it continue- Missy hadn’t noticed one of the last five thunder claps. 

XXXXXXXX

“Doctor,” Nardole said, attracting the Doctor’s attention from Missy who was curled up in his lap sleeping. It had been a tiring day for all involved. “Bill showed me the funniest thing today.” 

“Hmm?” The Doctor asked, trying not to sound suspicious. Nardole had his accusatory voice on. “What was that then?” 

“Your feline friend had become quite the internet sensation around campus. There have been over one hundred photos of her posted on university linked Instagram pages.” 

“Insta-what?” The Doctor asked, trying to distract the Cyborg from his interrogation. It was no good. 

“That’s not important thing,” Nardole said dismissively. “The funny thing was that the hashtag accompanying all of the pictures was ‘Missy the Cat’.” 

“Oh, well—” The Doctor started but was instantly cut off. 

“And the really funny thing was that when I went down to check the Vault, I found it empty.” 

The Doctor gulped and looked down. By this time, Missy had woken up and was watching the conversation with amused eyes. Scowling, the Doctor wondered if Missy had been the cat that inspired the phrase the cat that got the cream.


	4. Summer heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missy heads outdoors and makes a few new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updates, I've been rundown for most of January. 
> 
> Any comments appreciated :) 
> 
> Happy reading.

In true British fashion, the weather had changed overnight. The grey storm clouds, heavy with rain and thunder had cleared to give way to a brilliant blue sky. The sun shone proudly, once again in its rightful place for the middle of July. A small valley of water running parallel to the curb was the only evidence that a storm had happened and even that would be gone by lunch time.

 

Thankfully- for Missy’s sanity and the Doctor’s clothes- the storm had passed quickly.

 

Unfortunately, Nardole’s temper would not pass as quickly as the storm.

 

“What do you mean she’s temporarily a cat?”

 

Nardole’s question drew the Doctor back to the present moment. He hated it when the Cyborg used that voice- it was high pitched and squeaky. It had the same effect on the Doctor’s nerves that running nails down a chalkboard would have on most. Was it possible to get oil for a cyborg whose voice was too squeaky?

 

Trying to block out the nasally whinging, the Doctor stole a glance at Missy who was doing a very good job at pretending to be asleep while she basked in the sunlight on the windowsill. In cat form though, just as in her Gallifreyan form, Missy’s body had tells that would always give her away.

 

Her ears- which the Doctor had noticed relaxed, with the left one growing floppy and nearly folding over on itself completely, when she was truly asleep- were currently upright and too attention. Missy was enjoying listening to the Doctor getting dressed down- presumably she thought it was a taste of his own medicine.

 

The Cyborg had been going on for the better part of an hour and still looked no closer to letting the feline issue go. Mind wandering again, the Doctor found himself wondering if Nardole’s high-pitched voice was even more annoying to Missy. Surely a cat’s hearing was more attuned to picking up higher pitched frequencies? This could be his way out of a royal telling off…

 

“Well, I’d say that was pretty self-explanatory,” the Doctor said with a shrug before nodding his head over to the windowsill. “Keep your voice down. It’s all squeaky and nasally and too high pitched. You’ll hurt Missy’s ears. You know cats are more sensitive to that sort of thing.”

 

From the corner of his eye, the Doctor could see that that remark had earned him a lazy, but appreciative, flick of Missy’s tail. High praise indeed and yet another tell that she wasn’t really sleeping.

“A fully grown female Gallifreyan turning into a cat overnight is not self-explanatory!” Nardole huffed in annoyance. His eyes widened a few seconds later as he finally registered the Doctor’s words. “My voice is not nasally or squeaky thank you very much! I’ll have you know, I have commanded a fleet of Dwqnbers with my authoritative voice.”

 

The Doctor rolled his eyes and went to offer his rebuttal when he caught Missy lifting her paw, her claws pulsing in and out in preparation. The Doctor knew that was another of the Time Cat’s tells, however, this time she had given up the pretence of pretending to be asleep and was fully focused on her favourite scratching spot.

 

“Stop it!” The Doctor hissed, ignoring Nardole’s confused outburst as he rushed to scoop up Missy. “I’ve already told yer, you do not scratch my furniture. The university will charge me and they don’t pay me enough to pay for all yer damage. I bought you a perfectly good scratching post over there.”

 

Missy meowed, unimpressed and frustrated. She was feeling restless and uncertain of what to do with all her pent up energy.  Listening to the Doctor, she lazily swished her tail from left to right and used all her focus to project the image of the open fields of the outdoors into the forefront of the Doctor’s mind. The Time Lord had to admit that even in cat form, Missy’s skill for mental visualisation was impressive. The image of a British country side in midsummer came into view, long strands of wheat intermingled with lush grass- perfect for prowling and hiding and hunting. A light wind blew across the vista, carrying with it the soft sound of bird song.  The smell of freshly cut grass and lavender toyed with the Doctor’s senses and for a tiny second, he was lulled into the full sensory mirage.  In the middle of the mirage, he caught Missy in cat form perched on the second branch of an old oak tree. Her smile was wide, emulating the Cheshire Cat so well that the Doctor regretted ever gifting her a copy of _Alice in Wonderland._

And he’d thought her Mad Hatter impression had been a dead ringer.

 

“Doctor!” Nardole said insistently. “Really have you lost all your senses?”

 

 _No_ , the Doctor thought to himself. _I can still hear you rattling on._

“Nardole, haven’t you got that farmer’s market today? You’ve been looking forward to that…”

 

The Doctor’s left hand rested on the top of Missy’s head, index finger idly rubbing just behind her ears as he tried to keep her as benign as possible while the Cyborg thought over his options. He looked visibly torn between his duties as the (second-in-command) gatekeeper to the Vault and the prospect of scooping up a bargain parsnip at Bristol’s finest farmer’s market.  Finally, he seemed to reach a conclusion.

“Fine,” Nardole said decisively. “I’ll leave you two to whatever this is, but if I smell a whiff of trouble, I’ll be back.”

 

The Doctor nodded sensibly, biting back a laugh as he felt Missy project an image of a plump hen flailing around in his mind. Clearly, even in cat form she had an unrivalled sense of humour.

 

“Of course,” the Doctor responded. “I know how seriously you take your duties, but even you deserve a break.”

 

Nardole nodded, a look of vindication crossing his features. He held one podgy finger up and pulled a face that made him look like he held smelt something fowl.

 

“One whiff of trouble and I will come down on the pair of you like a tonne of bricks.”

 

With that final- albeit over the top- word, Nardole took his leave. The Time Lord and Time Cat looked at each other for a very long time. Despite one half of the duo finding herself in an altogether furrier position, they managed to give each other the same look they had done as boys in trouble at the Academy. The Doctor’s serious façade gaveway to a fit of giggles and Missy’s eyes shone with mirth- making up for her inability to physically laugh in her current form. Once the amusement died down,  the image of the outdoors returned. This time it was accompanied by a deep pining, evidently Missy’s innate desire to be out in the wild was coming to the surface.

 

“Missy,” the Doctor sighed. “You know I can’t let you out…”

 

Missy looked up at the Doctor with wide eyes. It was the same wide eyes that convinced him to buy the piano and visit her with takeaways every night. He knew that he was on a sinking ship.

 

“Look…fine. Half an hour, alright?”

 

XXXXXXXX

 

Missy now knew that trying to replicate Paradise so early on in her regeneration had been flawed from the start. It was an impossible endeavour- Paradise couldn’t be replicated by wifi and wires, it had to be felt deep within the soul. Right now, on a tiny patch of grass in a nondescript park in Bristol, Missy’s soul was being fed. Rolling over onto her back, Missy sank deeper into the dewy grass and let her tail swish from side to side. The late afternoon sun was low and basked her in a wonderfully warm glow as it kissed her furry middle. Eyes drifting shut, Missy let out a content purr as she felt the Doctor’s presence nearby. He was hilarious- her Doctor. He couldn’t seem to decide whether he was protective or wary of her being in the great outdoors. Overhead, Missy heard a flock of birds retreating to their nests as the end of the day approached. That piqued her interest enough to open one eye and stare up at the birds with a calculated interest. Missy wondered if the rule about murder extended to her current form but before she had a chance to explore that line of thought, something interrupted her…

 

The looming shadow of a stray cat blocked the rays of summer sun that she had previously been bathing in. The rough looking Tabby cat was larger than her and ogling her with hopeful eyes. His tail pointed to the sky as he let out a high-pitched howl, signalling he was in the throes of a heat. Judging by the youthful glint in the Tabby’s eyes, it was one of his first heats.  It was hardly surprising that the young tom cat had taken such an interest in Missy. She appeared to be around the same age as him, was a new cat in town and strikingly beautiful. She knew this was a fact after her recent internet stardom. It was also something the Doctor had told her every night- both in Gallifreyan and cat form. What was surprising, however, was Missy’s reaction to the sudden interest in her.  She found that the deep burning she’d been feeling all day- something she’d been assuming was a pining to go outside- was beginning to lift. With deep interest, Missy found herself standing up and turning around. Flattening herself to the ground, she presented herself to the Tabby and let out a low meow in anticipation as she felt him mount her from behind. Just as she was certain the deep burning was about to lift, another shadow appeared. This shadow was less feline, however, and more overgrown stick insect.

 

“Knock it off,” the stick insect shaped shadow ordered.

 

 Seemingly out of nowhere, cool drops of water began to fall onto the two cats. The Tabby hissed in displeasure but quickly scarpered into the bushes. Before she knew it, Missy was scooped up and being held at arms length by the Doctor.

 

“What is wrong with you?” The Doctor hissed angrily. “Do you want to end up in a cardboard box surrounded by a litter of kittens and weeing on old newspapers? Is your new Master plan to end up in smaller boxes and more ridiculous situations every year? Because if it is, it’s the one plan you’re finally succeeding at!”

 

Missy glared at the Doctor, unimpressed by either the interruption or his words. She raised her paw to swipe at him but was interrupted by a female voice. 

 

“Doctor, I know they say that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, but I’d say talking to your cat that way was a close second.”

 

Missy looked between the Doctor and the strange woman momentarily, before becoming distracted by the sturdy looking Pitbull that was looking up at her. Eyes narrowed, she hissed at the canine who looked up at her placidly.

 

“Ah Jessica, I didn’t see you there,” the Doctor said as he finally recognised his colleague. He glanced a warily down at the grey Pitbull and tightened his grip on Missy. “And who is this fella?”

 

“This is Peanut,” Jessica explained. “He’s a big softy, you don’t need to worry about your Missy.”

 

The Doctor was about to ask how she knew Missy’s name when he remembered the horrid world of Instagram.

 

“It’s not Missy I’m worried about,” the Doctor confessed, struggling to hold onto Missy as she launched herself from his arms.

 

Landing on her feet, Missy stared up at Peanut. With one forceful swipe, she bopped the dog on the nose. Taking the bop as an invitation to play, Peanut barked enthusiastically and began to chase Missy- catching her off guard and panicking her. The Time Cat, in her frenzied panic, failed to run back to the Doctor as she had intended and instead darted up to the very top of the oldest oak tree in the park. Balancing precariously at the top, she looked down at the Doctor and meowed at him accusingly as though the whole thing was his fault.

 

“Missy!” The Doctor yelled, “come down here right now, we’re going home. If you got yourself up there, you can bloody well get yourself down.”

 

Jessica approached the Doctor after re-attaching Peanut’s lead. “I’m so sorry, Doctor. He thought she was playing, I don’t think he realises how big he is compared to her.”

 

“It’s not his fault,” the Doctor grumbled. “Missy should know better.”

 

Jessica laughed. “You hold your cat in higher esteem than some men hold their wives…”

 

If the Doctor had been focused on anything other than Missy, he might have picked up on Jessica’s attempt at discovering more about the enigma he had surrounded himself in. Instead, he was to wrapped up in trying to coax Missy out of the tree.

 

“She’s got herself stuck. Of course she’s gone and got herself stuck…”

 

Jessica frowned and pulled out her phone.

 

“I can call the campus volunteer fire brigade, it’ll be a change for them to deal with a cute cat rather than a drunk student.”

 

XXXXXXXX

 

It took twenty minutes for the fire brigade to arrive and set up the ladder, still Missy wasn’t budging.

 

“Missy,” the Doctor encouraged softly. “Just take one step towards the man and he’ll do the rest.”

 

Cringing, the Doctor realised that that was exactly what had happened with the Tabby cat earlier. During all the chaos, the Doctor failed to notice the arrival of a plump Cyborg next to him.

 

“One whiff of trouble…” Nardole said smugly. “Wasn’t that what I said?”        


End file.
